handyman
by zeldris
Summary: After moving into her new home, Juvia finds a mysterious phone number on a post-it note. (gruvia)


**summary** : She assumed what they had _meant_ by handyman was a slumped over mid forties father who desperately needed the spare cash to keep his greedy children satisfied for another day. She was sorely mistaken.

 **pairings** : gray/juvia

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She realized early on that she was going to have her share of problems with the new house.

The moving truck's delay had been problem number one. Now, all that kept her new house from looking like an empty asylum was her backpack and a few boxes of clothing that did little to spruce up the place she would be living for the foreseeable future.

Oh yes, and the fact that there was no wifi.

Juvia didn't want to sound like an ungrateful surly teen, especially since she was privileged enough to actually _buy_ a house in a rural neighborhood in the first place. No, she was trying her best to stay positive. But with all of her furniture, comforts, _blankets_ , and everything else was still halfway across the country, it was getting harder by the minute.

She slid her finger across her phone while sitting down cross-legged on the wooden floor of her new kitchen, playing candy crush until her mind began to numb from the repetitive shapes and sound effects. This was the epitome of boredom – but what else was she supposed to do? No proper wifi, no food, no furniture, no _nothing_.

She lolled her head from side to side, bored, and stood finally, allowing her phone to switch off as she stretched her aching limbs from the long drive. There had to be something else she could do – the only thing left of the previous owners of her new home were a few scrapes on the walls and of course, the 1980s age phone connected to the kitchen with a curly cord that kept it firmly tethered to the wall. Most people might be turned off by the retro piece of technology, but Juvia found it added something to her home that she couldn't get with any other home in this area.

She sauntered over to the novelty phone, playing with the curled cord and bouncing it happily. The phone was an ugly beige color that washed out the walls, but she liked it enough that she didn't even mind.

She suddenly yanked the phone off its pedestal and held it up to her ear, like she might be receiving an important call any moment now.

Just as she did so, a small fleck of yellow paper spiraled to the floor sadly, a forgotten scrap of the memories that used to be.

"That's weird." She spoke aloud into the phone. She hung it up abruptly and retrieved the slip of paper. A few smudged words that had been lovingly etched into the segment of a post-it note read just one word. _Handyman_ , and then a barely legible phone number.

Handyman? Juvia felt her brow furrow. Did that mean something? Was there a local who could fix things easily?

Juvia bit her lip and stared at the blank bars on her phone. There was no telling if _Handyman_ entailed tech advisor, or if the number was even still available. But did she really have anything to lose by calling the number? It would be simple enough to say ' _my mistake_ ' or ' _wrong number'_ if the call went sour. Plus, her boredom was slowly swallowing her whole. Might as well make the most of her time here.

She dialed the number with care, making sure that no mistakes were dealt while doing so. The numbers were clear enough that she could tell exactly what they were, but she was still nervous. Her fingers tangled in the cord as she heard the dull ringing sound on the phone.

One ring. Two rings. Her nerves built up and she felt the anxiety crawl up her spine. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if the handyman decided not to pick up.

" _Hello_?"

No such luck.

The gravelly voice on the other end reminded Juvia of her old garbage collector man, who used to yell at the neighbors puppy for being too curious whenever the truck rolled around. She was suddenly nervous.

"Hi! Hello, I'm – uh, I'm the new owner of the…Jones's house? And I, just was wondering if you really were some sort of…handyman?" Juvia stammered into the phone. She felt her voice get quieter with every word, embarrassingly enough.

There was a pause on the other line, then a sharp inhale.

"What's your problem?"

Juvia exhaled, thankful. "Well, I'm not sure if this area is of your expertise…but my wifi isn't working? I checked the modem, but-"

The voice on the other end scoffed. "I can fix anything."

"Oh!" Juvia exclaimed. "Well that's…good. So can you help me out? I can-"

The voice sighed, like she had just thrown a wrench in his schedule.

"I'll be there in a minute."

Then he hung up.

Juvia stared at the phone for a second, unsure of what to think. Who did she just invite to her house? What if it was some crazed maniac that had driven the first family away? Had she just made a terrible mistake?

She supposed she'd just have to wait and see. And if she _did_ get murdered, hopefully she'd eave enough clues to put her murderer away forever.

With that said, she subtly tucked the phone number of the handyman back behind the phone. Safe and sound.

.

.

.

Truth be told, when he said a _minute_ he really only meant a minute.

The doorbell rang and Juvia was hardly in any shape to answer it. Her mind-numbingly short shorts were embarrassingly juvenile, as was her cream colored faded tank that was ages too short for her that was barely being held together by a flannel button-up shirt that was tied right above her belly button. She looked like a duke of hazzard, not to mention her wild blue hair that was thrown together like a sea colored mop behind a red bandana. Classy.

Her outfit, which would without a doubt be deemed scandalous by her conservative mother, was still the least of her problems. She had after all, just allowed a complete stranger to arrive at her front door. A handyman. Which hopefully would not be her undoing.

Juvia wiped the sweat off of her palms onto her shorts and walked over to the door calmly.

Her hand touched the golden doorknob and she pulled it open, doing her best to plaster a welcoming smile on her tired face.

She assumed what they had _meant_ by handyman was a slumped over mid forties father who desperately needed the spare cash to keep his greedy children satisfied for another day.

She was sorely mistaken.

The man on the other side of the door had a worn, bored expression across his sharp features. That was a good word, _sharp_.

Everything, from his face all the way down to his legs, was toned and sharp, like one day someone decided to chip away at a hunk of granite until they had finally constructed what had to be the world's most beautiful man.

Juvia felt like someone had just poured a bottle of maple syrup down her throat.

This wasn't possible. He looked like he was 24, 25 years old, max. There was no way he could be the jaded handyman she'd spoken to on the phone.

"Are you gonna keep standing there like an idiot?" He asked gruffly, looking her over like she was yesterday's news.

"I – uhm-"

"The modem's downstairs, right?" He brushed past her empty words as he pushed past her effortlessly. She caught the smell of pine needles as he passed, and she'd never found the smell appetizing until this very moment.

"Yes! Yes it is!" She finally answered when he began to give her a strange look. "I'm Juvia, by the way. Juvia Lockser. I just moved here from-"

"Let me guess." He said thinly, giving her a condescending look and shifting. "You're a small town girl from Kentucky, just looking for a plucky neighborhood where you can settle down, have a few kids, maybe an ugly yip-yap dog, and a husband that will roll over for you when you snap your fingers." He finished his monologue with a knowing smirk, like he had her pinned all in the span of 20 seconds.

She gaped. "I'm from _Nevada_."

He shrugged. "Am I really that far off?"

She looked offended, and tried to scrape together an adequate defense. " _No_ , you couldn't be farther from the truth! I don't want…I don't want any of that!"

"Oh yeah?" He asked her in disbelief. "Prove it."

She sniffed. "I'm allergic to dogs. _And_ , I'm not getting married until I turn 32."

He snorted. "What's that, a year away?"

"I'm 24, you little-"

"Modem." He said, suddenly focused on the task at hand. "It should take me a minute or so."

"I-" That's right. He had come here to help _her,_ after all. "You're right. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. Juvia figured that was as close as he was going to come to an apology. It was a marvel someone so presumptuous could be so breathtakingly beautiful. His raven hair was lovely enough to glint in the sunlight the way diamonds did.

"Do you want something to drink?" Juvia asked him hopefully. "I think I have a water bottle, or diet Snapple-"

"I'm good." He answered quickly, averting his eyes to the basement. He was silent for a moment, like he was debating whether or not she was worth the fix.

"I'm Gray." He said shortly. "Gray Fullbuster. I live across the street. I used to…fix stuff for the Jones's."

"Oh. It's…nice to meet you. Sorry for the…" She trailed off, realizing that she had been about to use the word _mess_ , but there was no mess to blame the ugliness of her house on. "Emptiness." She decided instead.

"Sure." Gray agreed curtly. He disappeared into the basement shortly after. The basement was fully finished and beautiful, but Juvia had yet to traverse down there in fear of not being able to find the light switch and then being consumed by ghosts. You know, the usual.

Gray disappeared for about ten minutes. Juvia awaited his return anxiously, praying that he wouldn't wreak havoc on a system she barely understood for revenge for their earlier dispute. He seemed like an honest guy, perhaps _too_ honest, but honest nonetheless.

When he resurfaced, a smudge of dust on his cheek, he appeared satisfied with his work. He sputtered some technological nonsense that Juvia couldn't understand even with a masters degree, so she just nodded while he talked.

There was this weird light in his eyes when he talked about something he had a clear interest in, like there was a tiny person living inside his head who would flick the lights on whenever something needed to be fixed. She briefly wondered if this was why the phone number had been stuck in her phone. Maybe the former owners recognized Gray's love for…fixing things, and knew he'd be empty without something to tinker with.

"Did you get _any_ of that?"

She blinked. That's right, she was supposed t be listening. Not obsessing over the working's of his mind.

"Yup. Got it." She nodded curtly. He looked at her in disbelief, before shaking his head.

"Good. Because I'm not coming back here to fix that shit again, if you break it, that's your problem." He told her, although there was a breath of hesitance in his voice, like he was waiting for her to openly challenge him.

"I'll try my best." She replied, the smallest hint of a smile playing on her lips. He didn't return the gesture, but his face held something else. Respect? Disgust? It was like trying to read the emotions of a stone statue.

She hesitated again before speaking. "Can I…pay you? How much do you want for this?"

He immediately shook his head, waving his hands in front of her. "No. I don't take money for this."

Her brow furrowed. "Are you sure? I can't really thank you enough, this is really helpful to me and I want to compensate."

"No money." He said sharply before turning away.

He left without another word, not to be bothered by Juvia's peasantry. What a pleasant person.

She watched carefully and he retreated back into his home across the street. His legs were long and toned even from a distance. She wondered internally if he worked out a lot, maybe in his front yard, where she could sip pink lemonade and watch…

She smacked her own cheek. Bad Juvia. He was a neighbor, and she should respect him as such.

Her eyes lingered on his front window. Still. There had to be _some_ benefits to her handy hot neighbor besides the occasional wifi fix, right?

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.

.

"My printer is broken."

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone.

" _Didn't I tell you not to call me again?_ "

Juvia paused. "Well, yes, but…"

Gray made a mumbling sound, like he was cursing her out, but just quiet enough for her to not hear every word.

" _Fine. I'll be over in a few."_

Juvia hung up, a pleased smile on her graceful features.

Her home was now lovely, decorated in a modern type fashion with pale and dark furniture contrasting perfectly in every room. There would be minor hitches in her daily life however, those of which required immediate attention. Attention that only an attractive neighbor could provide.

Over the last few months of living, Juvia had been progressively calling him more and more often. Each time he seemed to get more annoyed, but each time he still came back with only minor complaints.

The reason they were so minor was probably because Juvia had developed a habit of stuffing him full of sweets and food whenever he came over. Since he had refused to let her pay him, she decided that the best way to a man's heart was through his stomach.

Gray arrived sooner than he said. He was wearing jeans and thick boots, ones that Juvia would only wear if she were about to wade through the jungles of Vietnam. Juvia assumed that was the reason Gray liked them so much.

"Nice shirt." Juvia commented dryly. She said this due to the fact that he wasn't wearing one.

"Just took a shower." He grunted, kicking his giant ass boots to the side.

Boy, could she ever tell. His dark hair was shiny with water and his exposed skin was slick. Juvia fought the ever present urge to fan herself. Inviting Gray over was always a hazard, because the urge to kiss him senseless oftentimes outweighed her own common sense.

"You know where the printer is." She informed him smartly. "And I'm making lemon bars in the kitchen, so come and get them when they're done."

A flicker of gratefulness passed over his features. Juvia smiled. _Always_ offer the incentive first.

"Isn't this the second time you've broke it?" He asked her, mildly amused.

"Its got a mind of its own." She said with a shrug. It was true that she had broken the printer once before. It seemed that whenever she had an urgent need to print something, the printer refused to work.

He made a sound, something like a laugh. Good.

"Don't make a mess in there, or I'll steal your mail for the next year!" She called to him as he began his climb upstairs.

"You can try!" He called back. Juvia laughed aloud and walked back into the kitchen to see how much longer her lemon bars needed.

She was happy enough that she could joke with Gray like this, the truth was she hadn't bonded with any of her other neighbors very well, and Gray, however rough around the edges, still made an acceptable friend.

He denied their friendship of course, but it didn't stop her from thinking of them as friends. Even though she'd _love_ to be something more.

Juvia set her lemon bars on the counter once they were finished, allowing the scent to drift aimlessly, no doubt catching the olfactory snare of her resident handyman.

Sure enough, no less than twenty seconds later, Gray almost bolted down the stairs.

"Fixed," he slurred, distracted by the sweets.

"Good boy." Juvia congratulated him. He glared at her for patronizing him, and she only grinned.

"What, you want me to _beg_ for it?" He asked her snidely, gesturing to the lemon bars in question.

She smiled and shook her head. He grabbed a knife and began cutting a slice tha was big enough to feed a family.

"Been to the gym lately?" She teased as she sat upon her kitchen counter. Gray was an extremely cut man, his chest look chiseled and worked. It was obvious he went to the gym frequently, but Juvia enjoyed making fun of him for being so fit.

"Ha-ha." He fake laughed, staring at the lemon bar as if it were his pride and joy.

"I'm serious! I think I see another set of abs today…what is it, a 16 pack now?" She asked. He stared at her, pretending to be unamused. He was though, he couldn't fool her.

He took a bite of the lemon bar and shrugged. "Jealous?"

She nodded exaggeratedly. "Oh yes, for sure! I _wish_ I was as shredded as Gray Fullbuster!"

He shook his head. "You're so weird Juvia."

She shrugged. "I'd imagine I'd be pretty boring if I wasn't."

He chewed on that for a moment. Juvia only kicked her legs leisurely while leaning back and forth on her counter, making sure Gray was enjoying the lemon bar as much as she was enjoying watching him.

"Gray, can I ask you something?" She said out loud after he'd finished the lemon bar. Juvia had to admit, it was dubious to ask him a favor after having just fed him delicious sweets, but at this point, she didn't really have a choice.

"If I say no, you'll keep talking." He deadpanned. He wasn't wrong.

"You know that neighborhood bonfire thing?" She asked sweetly. A flier had been dropped at her doorstep earlier in the week, as it had been dropped on every _other_ doorstep in the neighborhood. A summer kickoff. It sounded like a lot of fun, there was only one problem.

"Yep." He said shortly, not understanding her underlying point.

"Will you take me?" She begged him, jumping off of her counter so that they were standing face-to-face. Well, more like face-to-chest. He had several inches on her.

"Take you?" His asked in confusion. "I don't even want to _go_."

"Please, Gray!" She pressed on. "I don't know anyone here and I want to be introduced! You're the only person I've talked to here and you're my only friend!"

He looked down at her dryly, probably abut to say 'I'm not you're friend', but he paused.

"It's not some big party. Only like 20 people show up just to talk aimlessly. It's boring, and _social_ …" he said the world social like it were equivalent to malaria.

"Please help me Gray!" Juvia pleaded, folding her hands together and pressing them to her lips.

He studied her, and Juvia wondered just what he was thinking. Annoyance and regret flashed across his dark stormy eyes. He was going to say no. If he didn't, she'd probably drop dead from shock. Gray barely even liked her. He probably knew that she had purposely broke the printer just for an excuse to see him.

Yeah. Oops.

Then, his thin lips twisted into a sort of hybrid frown-sneer. It was unique to his face, and his face alone.

"Fine." He groaned, licking his lips and looking away, as if thinking, 'why did I agree to this shit?'

Juvia blinked once. Twice. Three times.

"Seriously?" She echoed.

"Don't look so surprised." He hissed. "I'm not _that_ big of a douchebag."

"I didn't say that!" She argued.

"But you were _thinking_ it." He told her, pushing her nose so she stepped back an inch. That was oddly…affectionate. For Gray, at least. Maybe she really _was_ wearing him down.

After a moment of recovery, she broke into a smile. He was actually going to help her with something other than broken appliances! Without thinking, she dove forward and threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him like he was a maple tree and not a living breathing, no-touchy person.

"Oh…god…get off. Off." He grumbled, pushing at her lightly like he'd never been hugged before and he could only shoo her away.

"Nope. This is happening. Our first _moment_." She giggled, continuing to squeeze the life out of him and hang off of his shoulders like a fruit bat.

"You're insane." He stated, lifting her off the ground a few times in an attempt to shake her off. "And this isn't a _moment_ you crazy woman!"

When she finally released him, he held his hands up in the air, waiting for her to strike once more. She grinned. Good to know that the iron man had a few weaknesses besides sugary desserts.

"Thank youuuuu," she sang happily, clapping her hands together and letting her smile devour her face. He looked at her like he just didn't understand her, like she was a 5000 piece puzzle with all the pieces missing.

"Don't thank me yet," he sighed, "you owe me. A lot."

"Well what do you want?" She asked him coyly.

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure."

She sat her head on her hand and made a cheeky smile.

" _Yet_." He corrected himself. "You're annoying me. I'm leaving."

"Wow, thanks for the positivity buddy. Can't wait for you to be my party date."

His nose wrinkled at the word _date_. She noticed the muscles in his chest tighten as well. Yum.

She would wear him down. It was only a matter of time.

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.

.

"That was fun." Juvia said excitedly, unable to contain the skip in her step.

"That was torture." Gray rephrased. His steps were more slow, and trudge worthy. Evidently the pair had very different views of neighborhood bonfires.

"And everyone's so _nice,_ and friendly…" she added kindly.

"And touchy, and annoying, and _loud_ ," Gray added unhelpfully.

She shoved him playfully into the curb, their fire-and-ice personalities clashed well. He might argue unwell, but she knew she'd win that argument anyways.

"Remind me again why I did this," he grumbled to himself, asking no one in particular, yet Juvia felt compelled to answer.

"Because you'd do _anything_ for me." She assured him happily. He looked at her weirdly, shaking his head.

"Juvia, I swear, you make me crazy."

She tilted her head and shoved him again. She never really understood what he meant when he said that, even now, his words were clouded with uncertainty.

.

.

.

"You'd think by now you'd just…I don't know, _teach me_ how to fix this stuff myself." Juvia mused, lounging across her kitchen table while Gray buried himself in her dishwasher.

"Shut up and hand me the wrench."

"Ugh. So _demanding_." She complained, while reaching into the tool box on one of her chairs and handing him the tool obediently.

"Besides, this stuff takes coordination. Talent. Patience." Gray listed off. Juvia raised an eyebrow.

"And what? I have none of those qualities?" She asked him, taking minor offense.

"I was pretty sure I made that clear." He mumbled, before emerging from her dishwasher, soot all over his hands.

Juvia gaped. "Where in god's name did _that_ come from?"

He grinned. "You don't wanna know."

She swallowed and sat up on her table, swinging her legs around to watch him survey her kitchen.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" She asked him slyly.

"Just…making sure everything else is working properly…" He muttered, somewhat embarrassed for going the extra mile for someone he claimed to despise. He tapped her coffee maker with his wrench and stepped back, satisfied with his work.

"There's ice cream in the freezer." She finally divulged, to his excitement.

He pulled out the gallon of chocolate mocha (her personal favorite flavor) and began eating it by the spoonful.

"God, could you get any more uncivilized?" She asked him, shielding her eyes from his eating habits.

"I'll try my best, grand duchess. While I'm at it, maybe I'll let all of your appliances break." He mocked her relentlessly.

"Point taken. Ass." Juvia muttered. He pretended not to hear her.

"You know," he said, in between devouring her ice cream supply. "Sometimes I wonder if you break all your shit on purpose just for my company."

Juvia froze, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks and leave the rest of her face devoid of color.

Was he joking? Or did he _really_ know?

She let out a bout of nervous laughter, a horrible habit of hers whenever she made a mistake.

"As if. I can barely stand you." She said in between laughter. She bowed her head so that her hair was hopefully covering her blush.

He was right. Of course he was right. By now, it was becoming almost unbearable for her to cover up her crush on him. He had to have caught some of her longing glances, or offhand compliments, or _anything_ she'd been dropping him for the past 6 months of living in her house. He'd be stupid to not notice. He'd be cruel to ignore her.

Either way, Juvia knew full well that one of these days, there'd be a confrontation. And something told her it wouldn't end in a happily ever after scenario. Gray never was one for fairy tales.

"You're not fooling anyone, Juvia." He said, like he was reading her mind. She braved a look at him, and he winked.

Her treacherous face betrayed her and set on fire. Of course he knew. Of _course he did_.

He was just messing with her now. Asshole.

"You should go soon." She forced herself to say emotionlessly. "I'm getting tired of your stupid face."

He wrinkled his nose. "Yeah. Get better ice cream flavors, by the way. Or you'll have to start paying me for my labor."

"I'll do my best," she calmly muttered. She just had to keep it together for a little while longer.

"See ya, Juvia." He said as he was leaving. That was strange. He didn't usually bid her any sort of farewell, normally he just ate food and left whenever he felt it would please him.

He turned around at the door, his hand fishing into his pocket. She noticed that his wrists were still dirty and coated with the soot from the dishwasher, however that had even gotten there.

"Oh yeah, one more thing." He told her, nodding his head at her from her standing point in the front hallway. "Next time you break stuff on purpose, try not to leave any evidence behind."

She felt her blood freeze in place. No. No. No. This wasn't happening.

Juvia looked up to see that he was holding a silver bracelet. Her bracelet. It must've slipped off when she was breaking her dishwasher. He knew. He knew the _whole time_.

He put the bracelet back into his pocket and closed the door already gone, leaving her, choking on embarrassment, in her front doorway.

She grabbed the front railing and leaned over, feeling as if she might throw up. There was only _one_ acceptable reaction to this occurrence. Only one.

She'd have to move again.

.

.

.

A knock came at her door around 5 pm. She figured it was just one of her neighbors trying to sell her girl scout cookies for their snot-nosed kid, so she didn't even bother getting up off of her couch.

The knock came again, more urgent this time, so she reluctantly stood up and walked over to her door to see whatever the hell it was someone wanted.

When she swung open the door, she certainly wasn't expecting to see Gray, slumped over across the doorframe, playing with her silver bracelet in one of his hands.

She grinded her teeth, in anger and embarrassment. What had he even come here for? To mock her for being so stupid, and hopeful?

"Forgot to give this back," He said lazily, almost as if he were conveying that he had made no mistake in doing so. She held out her hand flatly and he dropped it into her palm.

He raised and eyebrow at her sharp glare.

"Who put a rat in your coffee?" He asked, standing up and flexing hi shoulder blades before walking into her house, uninvited.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked him, not hiding the bite in her voice. He shrugged.

"Got anything to eat?" He asked her, ignoring her seething.

"Gray," she protested. "Seriously. What are you doing here?"

He looked at her like she was dumb. "I'm hungry?"

She bit the inside of her lip. "Don't you have any food?"

He shrugged. "I think you know the answer to that question."

He dug through her fridge and she dug her shoes into the kitchen floor, trying to figure out what to say next. It was like he was going out of his way to _ignore_ the fact that he had caught her more than a week ago.

He grabbed and apple and started eating it, like he lived here and wasn't a guest she never wanted.

"Gray." She said firmly. "What do you want from me?"

He looked down at his apple. She rolled her eyes.

"You _know_ what I mean." She repeated, folding her arms sternly and looking him down confidently. She had to stay strong, if she showed even a _single_ sign of weakness-

Gray took a step towards her and she let out a tiny shriek. She mentally congratulated herself for looking like an idiot. So much for standing her ground.

"Look, Juvia…I don't care." He said finally, struggling with his words like he was saying something meaningful.

She looked at him in confusion and he sighed.

"I don't _care_ about….you know…" His eyes wandered to her dishwasher and she huffed.

"Well…why not?" She demanded. He looked at her pleadingly, his eyes asking her to just drop it. She refused.

"Because I…don't mind."

She blinked in shock. What did he mean by _that_?

He glared at her for not understanding, like it was her fault.

"I don't _mind_ doing this shit for you. And like…spending time…with…" He trailed off and swallowed hard, like there were a bunch of nails caught in his throat.

Juvia felt her pulse jump. Was he trying to tell her something beyond the scope of friendship.

"…Gray?" She asked lowly, taking a single step forward. He had set the apple on her kitchen counter, only two bites taken.

"Uh." He mumbled. "I mean…don't take that the wrong way…"

"Wrong way how?" Juvia demanded clarification. Gray looked as uncomfortable as she had looked when he caught her.

"Like…" he trailed off, looking at her like she had a smudge of dirt on her nose. "Just…fuck it."

All of a sudden, his hands darted forward and snatched her waist, puling her to him in an instant as he closed the space between them. The kiss was firm and sort of stony, nothing like Juvia had been taught as a child. Kisses were supposed to be romantic and soft, but Gray's was hard and desperate.

Not that she cared. The second his lips met hers, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back feverously. He seemed surprised by her enthusiasm at first, before he matched her pace and kissed her like any second she might slip out of his arms.

He pushed her back, biting her lip playfully before her back hit the counter where his apple was sitting. She could taste the crisp fruit on his lips, thank god she couldn't get enough of it.

He pulled away from her for a moment, touching her chin and laughing.

"You make me crazy," he said again, looking at her like she was a museum relic.

"If it makes you feel any better, I feel the same way." She comforted him, tightening her arms around his neck to convince him that she wasn't done with that kiss.

He looked up, thinking on her words for a moment.

"Actually, that does make me feel better." He said with a cheeky smile, before dipping down and kissing her again.

She wasn't going to have any broken appliances for a long, long time.

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 **this is just a oneshot i wrote a while ago but ive felt so guilty for ignoring this site for so long i decided to go ahead and post it. consider this me waving the whiteflag of assurance that i will get off my lazy fafsa loving ass and finish up some of my open projects (the two that ive been actually giving attention are of course heads or tails and act my age.) anyway hope u all enjoyed xoxo**


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